In searching the census it appeared as though Augustus had either died or fallen off the planet. Maybe entered a witness protection program?? Anyway. I was getting pretty discouraged. After many searches I found this on the 1900 Federal census for Habersham County, Georgia:
In looking at this entry my first thought was, Could this really be Augustus? The Augustus L. part is very clear but is THAT word really ANSLEY? What is that downstroke in the first few letters & why is it there?
Everything seemed like him BUT the name was just a wee bit funny. SO I continued my search and I found this on the 1910:
WOW so here's Bessie, no Augustus, with all the same children as she & Augustus had in 1900 in Georgia (plus one more), she is widow. And you'll note from the image that the surname is definitely ANSLEY this time. A check for her death certificate & there is no question as to her surname. One more look see for more...
So in the span of a few hours, with a bit of creative searching, I managed to not only find Augustus L. Ansley, despite the poor handwriting & indexing but I found out he had married Bessie Jones, they had 7 children, 1 had died, the family had moved to South Carolina and Bessie had died there. It is still unclear to me if Augustus died in Georgia or South Carolina. I did a search of South Carolina death records and I was not successful in locating him there. However, if the handwriting is as bad as it was on the 1900 census who will ever know? I personally believe he died in Georgia just prior to her moving to South Carolina. Since Georgia death records don't start until 1919 locating his death place & death date may not happen any time soon.
So when the image doesn't quite look like the surname you are seeking, take the time to do a wee bit of digging, you just might be surprised at what you find.
Happy Researching!
Karen
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